Dear Mr. Obama

An Iraqi war veteran is showing his support for Senator John McCain through a YouTube video. Now there are many political support videos swimming around YouTube, but this one has had over 11 million views. The video is simple, yet powerful, and, well, just watch it below.

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” — John 15:13

Joe the Vet Endorses McCain in YouTube’s Most Popular Election Video

A two-minute YouTube video of an Iraq War veteran has become an Internet sensation.

Jennifer Lawinski
FOXNews.com
Friday, 2008-31-30

An Iraq War vet’s video endorsement of John McCain is the most viewed election video on YouTube.

John McCain’s most powerful ad — an open letter to Barack Obama in which an Iraq War veteran criticizes his stand on the war — didn’t cost the Republican candidate a dime.

In “Dear Mr. Obama,” army veteran Joe Cook stands in front of the camera and scolds the Democratic presidential candidate for calling the Iraq war a mistake. The two-minute video, which was posted on YouTube, has gotten more than 11 million hits and is the most popular election video on the site.

In the video, Cook tells Obama why he disagrees with his Iraq war policies and says he’s supporting McCain. At the end, he walks away from the camera, revealing that he has a prosthetic leg.

Cook, 23, was wounded in Iraq in June and returned home to Wauconda, Ill., to recover. He said he enlisted three years ago because of his family’s dedication to serving their country. His parents were both marines, and he has two brothers in the military.

Now that he’s back from Iraq, Cook continues to help his fellow service members, running a business with a neighbor that provides valet parking services at veterans’ hospitals.

“When I first got back it was all about the recovery and everything like that, but as the race starting going on, I got more involved,” he said, explaining why he made the video. “I started reading about McCain and stuff. He’s a leader. I can really respect him, seeing as he’s a vet as well.”

Cook said he has already cast his ballot in Illinois early voting.

Video director Michael Brown, who teamed up with Cook to create the video, said he was inspired to make the video because he wanted to share the experiences of soldiers that aren’t reported in the media and to lend support to McCain for his position on the war.

“Obama has been squealing since 2002 that Iraq is a mistake,” Brown said. “He’s using the military as pawns, he has not brought our troops home and he has not done any good. When he says it’s a mistake, he’s disrespecting our guys.”

“I’m not connected with any campaign,” Brown said. “In fact, what’s interesting is, before this the only thing I’ve ever done politically is put a sign in my yard.”

Brown said he contacted Cook about making the video after meeting him at a parade the town held in Cook’s honor in July. He said he thinks the video’s effectiveness comes from its simplicity.

“Joe collaborated on the script to ensure its authenticity and truthfulness, which was important,” he said. “That’s what works so well.”

Both Cook and Brown are surprised by the popularity of the video.

“Obviously we didn’t think it was going to get up to 11 million hits,” Cook said. “It’s a little crazy, but anything I can do to help. I think it’s a good way to express what I felt and I thought it was good. I thought Mike Brown did a phenomenal job.”